Grocery Outlet — Attraction in Englewood

I’ve been many times and this was my first negative experience. The TLDR part of this is that the checkout area is too small and there is no clear signage telling oblivious people where the line begins. In every store I have ever been that forces you through an “impulse buy aisle” leading to the cashiers- the line starts where the checkout stations begin. In the case of this store - that’s aisle 5. You wait there until the next cashier is free. Now, I have been here often enough to know that the nice lady with the purple hair is mostly at checkout 5. And if she’s not there already she will pop over from the aisles- where I’m assuming she’s doing stock or pricing- to ring you out. I was waiting in the spot where you’re meant to wait when someone came up behind me and said, “excuse me”. I thought maybe I was standing in front of something she wanted to buy and moved up a bit, but she just kept pushing her cart forward very close to me. Apparently she thought I was just standing there for a reason other than checking out? I guess she expected me to let her in front of me. In retrospect- I wish I had. (Side note- This is a reason I really dislike this model of checkout line with a ton of random products, but from a retail standpoint- I get it. However, are you more interested in being a grocer or retail store? There’s already a Family Dollar right next door that does this mixed model of store). Also, It’s important to the story to mention that there was an older couple in line behind the person forcing me to move up. There was a present cashier and I was now begrudgingly waiting in the middle next to aisles 2-4 for her to finish with her customer, but she needed some sort of assistance, and the purple haired lady came over to help her while I was being moved forward, and yet another person decided to skip the line altogether and get in line from the entrance side. When the purple haired lady finished helping the first cashier she turned around and was visibly surprised I was now almost right behind her. She looked at me and said “I’m on aisle 5”. I said “okay, great” and began turning my cart around. The lady of the older couple looked right at me and asked “which one did she say?” I answered her and she proceeded to go ahead and jump right into being checked out before me and the lady that forced me to move up. Oh, and the lady that bullied me to move up turned around and went ahead and got in line behind the older couple. So I was left in limbo between the two check lanes with now THREE people who took the opportunity to get checked out while I was stuck there. The older couple then had the audacity to try and come up the line side of the check out lane to leave instead of between the wall and the carts where you’re supposed to go. I refused. I said they cut in front of multiple people already and they could go the right way. The lady said, “Yeah. I did that…”, with a smirk on her face. And the man started saying something about, “some people…”, as they left. Being older doesn’t not give you a magic key to the world where you’re given special privileges. They were perfectly able-bodied folks, and were extremely entitled. And, of course, the woman who went the wrong way in line brought something to the front and didn’t like the price so she needed to contest it. It was the most frustrating 10-15 minutes I’ve experienced at the market in some time. All of which, in my opinion, could be avoided with VERY clear signage as to where the line starts AND more space between the checkouts and the wall. OR lose the “impulse buy line”. Ideally the purple-haired lady should have had my back, but she seemed very rushed and managed to get three customers checked out before I could even get out the door. I probably won’t be back tbh. Maybe the store is ‘okay’, but I’ve already observed the prices are going up. Clearly the type of people the store attracts are rude and selfish. I’d rather pay a few cents more at Kroger or Meijer for human decency,...

Before I review, I want to say that I very much like having another grocery store in Englewood, especially one that is locally owned. This store is pretty small, but it has most of the items you're likely to need from a grocery. Selection isn't great, but the variety of products (as opposed to the variety of brands for a particular product) is pretty good. I did not see any beer or wine, but the Englewood drive through is across the street.

All that said, I have two significant complaints about this store.

1. The entire store REEKS of stale cigarette smoke covered up with a bit of air freshener. It is disgusting.

I assume the previous building tenant was a business that allowed smoking. And I assume the smell will fade over time. But for now, it's almost unbearable to a non-smoker like me.

Even worse, when I commented on the smell to an employee, she blamed it on customers bringing it in on their clothing. Grocery Outlet! You have a problem. Don't blame it on your customers or throw them under the bus!

2. The comparison prices displayed (the "Elsewhere" prices) that are supposed to show how much you're saving are WILDLY inflated.

This is really a complaint about Grocery Outlet in general. I've seen this practice in every Grocery Outlet I've shopped at across the country.

Nearly every item's "elsewhere" price tag claims that the competition charges a LOT more than Grocery Outlet for that item. And in the vast majority of cases, it's just not true. There are some very good prices at this store. And many items are slightly less expensive than the competition. Some are significantly less expensive. But you cannot save as much as the price tags claim by switching from other grocery stores to Grocery Outlet.

Fortunately, today it's easy to use the competitions' apps to find the actual price the competition charges for an item, and see if and how much you'll actually save.

Summary:

If you're willing to give up product variety for a usually small decrease in grocery prices, and if you can stomach stale cigarette smell throughout your grocery store, and if you want to support a locally owned grocery, this store might be...

Great store, love it and have been multiple times... but please train Joenne/Joanne? To not move onto another client before dealing with the one in front of her.

July 3rd 1025am ish if you wanna look at cameras. I was in blue scrubs, grabbed a drink on my way to cash out from the coolers. I saw the cashier was busy and I was thirsty so I waited. I was drinking the drink when she saw me and waved me up to check me out. Entire time ignored me for the gentleman she was conversing with. I put stuff on the counter to scan leaving the drink for last so it wouldnt get spilled/touched. Waited quietly for her to finish her conversation so that I could tell her about the drink. She grabs the top on the can and spilled it everywhere. Gives me a nasty look and I tell her I was trying not to interupt her conversation but that the drink was open. I still offer to pay for the drink despite her having to throw it away. I wasnt going to drink from it when her flat palm touched the top/drink hole.

Despite spilling the drink eveywhere she still wont pay attention to our encounter and is still talking to this other person. I stand and wait silently for her to ackowledge that I am there and need her to scan my rewards. The man ends their conversation, he walks away, I pay and walk out.

Not coming for her job, please dont fire her and next time I wont open a drink that cannot be resealed. But had she not ignored me the entire transaction it wouldnt have...